WINNING THE ENVIRONMENT WAR
(Originally considered mid 1990’s)
First a broad statement:- Man is killing
the planet and the planet, being a living identity, will retaliate (if it
hasn't already started - which it may have).
Whether you agree or disagree with the
statement at this time, it is what I believe.
Because of the scope of the problems I will confine remarks to Australia
and include sections of the following subjects (which at some point can be
interrelated):-
Water pollution, Dieback, Salinity - Water
Table, Erosion
River pollution in Australia is becoming
worse. There is no pointing the finger
at anybody in particular, but just a general accusation that as a nation we
have been complacent. It appears that as
the word is spread and as we start to work together things are improving.
River Pollution comes in many forms. This includes deliberate dumping or flushing
contaminated water and general debris into the storm water and river
systems. Water can be contaminated in
industrial complexes through the industrial processes used but genuine concern,
laws and the profit motive - clean up your act or we stop buying - are coming
into use, to a greater or lesser extent, in an attempt to rectify problems.
Man, apart from feeding waterways with
pollution, has also interfered with the water-flow, with dams and diversions. Because of the restrictions on water-flow,
the water-flow paths are not being flushed like they were and, with the
reduction in water-flow, toxic blue-green algae has bloomed in the last few
years as never before. To me, this is
one form of nature retaliating. As
another side-effect of the reduced flow, land is not receiving fresh silt or
being otherwise revitalized, through periodic flooding
Dieback and Salinity - Water Table are part
of a cause and effect problem. Trees are
removed for whatever reason; usually to make the land more accessible. With nature's sponges removed, water is not
retained in hill-slopes and collects in lower levels. As a result the water-table rises and with it
comes saltier water - salinity. The
trees that are left cannot tolerate the extra salt and so gradually die
off. This is slowly being combated by
replanting on slopes and using more salt tolerate strains of vegetation,
including trees, on lower levels.
Removal of trees includes removal of root
systems, therefore any strength in ground retention is drastically
diminished. Along water courses banks
are more easily undercut by flash-flooding, which does happen, despite an
earlier statement. On the open land,
because of the lack of trees to slow flash flooding, what remains of fertilized
top-soil is removed, although, dependent on circumstances, mud is deposited.
There is a lot more which could be said and
although it may seem I have 'shot myself in the foot' with possibly
contradictory argument, different areas of Australia have different problems at
different times. It does not detract
from the fact that Man, particularly European-based Man, has drastically
changed the face of the World, and the evidence is there, if the search is made
with an open mind.
1 January 2014
– I think these thoughts still have merit.
